Chekov and Zulu

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Zulu and Chekov, who got their nicknames from their lifelong devotion to "Star Trek," are Sikhs working as diplomats at India House in London. ("Zulu" being a corruption of "Sulu".) They have been friends since their boyhood in Dehra Dun. In August, 1984, Chekov arrives from Delhi. Zulu lives at Wembley with his wife and children. In November, Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Despite Chekov's protests, Zulu goes underground to infiltrate the Sikh extremists assumed to be behind Mrs. Gandhi's assassination. Chekov recalls their previous months together in England. Chekov, after a period of modernity, had reverted to wearing the traditional Sikh beard and turban. While Chekov drove Zulu to Stratford for a performance of "Coriolanus,O Zulu spoke about "The Lord of the Rings,O by J.R.R. Tolkien, comparing the position of the Hobbits--knowing nothing of the forces that threaten them, or those that may save them--to that of the Sikhs. At a dinner party at Chekov's house, Chekov talked about England as a breeding ground for Indian revolutionists. When he talked about his friendship with Zulu, a lady guest garbled the lyrics of "Love and Marriage.O Three months after Zulu goes into hiding, he telephones his wife and urgently tells her to have Chekov "beam him up.O Chekov meets Zulu on a country motorway. Zulu emotionally tells Chekov about the massacres of Sikhs in Delhi, and says the Sikhs were set up--the Congress Party was behind Mrs. Gandhi's assassination. Zulu leaves the service in disgust, and becomes a successful businessman in Bombay. In May, 1991, Chekov is with Rajiv Gandhi when a Tamil woman assassinates him with a bomb, killing Chekov as well. In his last moments, Chekov finds himself on the Starship Enterprise--he takes Zulu's hand as the ship is attacked by Klingons.